Common Council Meeting -- 12.06.2023

LEGISLATION IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City of Utica Common Council December 6th 2023 Type & Number Title/Description Date Committed INTRO. LOCAL LAW #1 09/06/2023 PRO. ORD. 1 Ordinance Removing Traffic Island 11/15/2023  Submitted to council by: Councilmember Colosimo-Testa Proposed Ordinance No. Submitted to council on: 09 / 05 / 23 Proposed Resolution No. Sent to Council Attorney on: 09 / 05 / 23 Thursday Rule Waiver Required? Y Date of Legislation: 09 / 06 / 23 Explanation provided to council on: / / ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF UTICA Department of Legislation Common Council Sponsored by: Councilmember Colosimo-Testa A LOCAL LAW ENTITLED “ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM IMPOSING OWNER LIABILITY FOR FAILURE OF AN OPERATOR TO STOP FOR A SCHOOL BUS DISPLAYING A RED VISUAL SIGNAL AND STOP-ARM” INTRODUCTORY LOCAL LAW NO. 1 OF 2023 Presented and read __________, 2023. Laid on the Table ___________, 2023. Adopted by the Common Council by a vote of YEAS: ___, NAYS: ___, on __________, 2023. Became a Local Law with the approval of the Mayor on __________, 2023, after a public hearing on __________, 2023. SECTION 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this local law, the following terms shall have the following meanings: A. "City" Shall mean the city of Utica. B "Manual on uniform traffic control devices" or"MUTCD" shall mean the manual and specifications for a uniform System of traffic control devices maintained by the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation pursuant to section 1680 of the New York Vehicle Traffic Law. C. "Owner" shall have the meaning provided in Section 239 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law. D. "School bus photo violation monitoring system" shall mean a device that is capable of operating independently of an enforcement officer which is installed to work in conjunction with a school bus stop-arm and which automatically produces two or more photographs, two or more microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images of a vehicle at the time it is used or operated in violation of subdivision (a) of section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law. SECTION 2. Program Established. A. There is hereby established, pursuant to section 1174-a of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, a demonstration program imposing monetary liability on owners of vehicles for failure of the operators thereof to comply with section 1174 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law when meeting a school bus marked and equipped as provided in subdivisions 20 and 21-c of section 375 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law in the City of Utica. B. Under such demonstration program the City is hereby authorized to install and operate school bus photo violation monitoring systems which may be stationary or mobile, and which may be installed, pursuant to an agreement with a school district within the City on school buses owned and/or operated by such school district. Provided, however, that: i. No stationary school bus photo violation monitoring system shall be installed or operated by the City, except on roadways under the jurisdiction of the City; and ii. No mobile school bus photo violation monitoring system shall be installed or operated on any such school buses unless the City and such school district enter into an agreement for such installation and operation. C. To carry out the demonstration program, the City, acting by and through the mayor, is authorized to enter into agreement with school districts for the installation, maintenance and use of school bus photo violation monitoring systems, for the proper handling and custody of photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, other recorded images and data produced by such systems, and for the forwarding of such photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, other recorded images and data to the City, subject to the provisions of this section and section 1174-a of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law and approval of the City Council. D. Nothing in this local law shall be construed to prevent the City or school district at any time from withdrawing from or terminating an agreement for the installation, maintenance and use of school bus photo violation monitoring systems, provided however, that the City or the school district shall provide no less than thirty days' required notice to the other for such withdrawal, if any, prior to such withdrawal. E. Cost of Program and Reports Relating Thereto. The total cost to the school district of the installation, Maintenance and use of school bus photo violation monitoring systems pursuant to an agreement authorized by this local law shall be borne entirely by the City. ii. Any participating school district, acting by and through the Superintendent of Schools of such district, or his or her designee shall provide any report required of the district, pursuant to Section 1174-a of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, to the State or any official thereof. To the extent that the City shall be required to issue any report To the State or any official thereof as a result of the adoption of this Local Law and/or Section 1174-a of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, the City of Utica, and/or City Department of Planning STOP-DWI/Traffic Safety Coordinator shall cause the same to be prepared pursuant to this local or applicable State law. Ill. F. Pursuant to Section 1174-a (a)(3)(I) of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, any school district participating in the demonstration program shall be prohibited from accessing any photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, other recorded images and data from school bus photo violation monitoring systems but shall provide, pursuant to the agreement with the City, as provided in this Local Law, for the proper handling and custody of such photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, other recorded images and data produced by such systems, and for the forwarding of such photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, other recorded images and data to the City for the purpose of determining whether a motor vehicle was operated in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law and imposing monetary liability on the owner of such motor vehicle therefor. G. The agreement between the City and the school district shall provide that photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, other recorded images and data produced by school bus photo violation monitoring systems shall be destroyed (a) ninety days after the date of the alleged imposition of liability fi a notice of liability is not issued for such alleged imposition of liability pursuant to this local law or (b) upon final disposition of a notice of liability issued pursuant to this local law. H. The City shall adopt and enforce measures to protect the privacy of Drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists whose identity and identifying information may be captured by a school bus photo-monitoring device. Such measures shall include: (i) utilization of necessary technologies to ensure, to the extent practicable, that photographs produced by such school photo violation monitoring systems shall not include images that identify the driver, the passengers, the contents of the vehicle, pedestrians and cyclists, provided, however, that no notice of liability issued pursuant to this section shall be dismissed solely because a photograph or photographs allow for the identification of the contents of a vehicle, provided that the City has made are a reasonable effort to comply with the provisions of this paragraph; (ii) a prohibition of the use or dissemination of vehicles license plate information and other information and images captured by school bus photo violation monitoring systems except: (a) as required to establish liability under this section or collect payment of penalties; (b) as required by court order; or (c) as otherwise required by law; (iii) oversight procedures to ensure compliance with the privacy protection measures required herein. The City, acting by and through the Commissioner of the Department of Public Works (DPW) shall also undertake the installation of signage in conformance with standards established in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Such signage shall be installed at each roadway entrance of the jurisdictional boundaries of the City giving notice that school bus photo violation monitoring systems are used to enforce restrictions on vehicles violating Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "roadway" shall not include state expressway routes or state interstate routes but shall include controlled-access highway exit ramps that enter the boundaries of the City. SECTION :3 Penalties. An owner liable for a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law pursuant to this Local Law shall be liable for monetary penalties in accordance with the following schedule of fines and penalties: SECTION 4: Fees A. Two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation; B. Two hundred seventy-five dollars for a second violation committed within eighteen (18) months of the first violation; C. Three hundred dollars for a third violation or subsequent violation all of which were committed within eighteen (18) months from the first violation; and D. An additional penalty of twenty-five dollars for each violation for the failure to respond to a notice of liability within the prescribed time period. Notice of Liability. A notice of liability shall be sent as provided by State Law by first class mail to each person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law. Personal delivery on the owner shall not be required. A manual or automatic record of mailing prepared in the ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein. To the extent that State Law does not preclude the City from causing such mailing to be made, the City shall undertake or cause to be undertaken such mailing. B. A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, the registration number of the vehicle involved in such violation, the location where such violation took place, the date and time of such violation and the identification number of the camera which recorded the violation or other document locator number. C. (i) A notice of liability shall contain information advising the person charged of the manner and the time in which he or she may contest the liability alleged in the notice. Such notice of liability shall also contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of liability and that a default judgment may be entered thereon. (ii) The notice of liability may contain such other information as the entity causing such notice of liability to be mailed deems appropriate to communicate the law, the adjudicatory process if the addressee of the notice wishes to contest the notice of liability. SECTION 5 Owner Liability: A. The Owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this Local Law if such vehicle was used or operated with the permission of the owner, express or implied, in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law and such violation is evidenced by information obtained from a school bus photo violation monitoring system; provided however that no owner o f a vehicle shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this Local Law where the operator of such vehicle has been convicted of the underlying violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law. For purpose of (i) this Section; and (ii) this Local Law, there shall be a presumption that such vehicle was used and operated with the consent of the owner at the time it was used and operated in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law. B. If the owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this Local Law for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the police as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to an allegation of liability for a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law pursuant to this Local Law that the vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the time the violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time. For purposes of asserting the defense provided by this subdivision, it shall be sufficient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen vehicle be sent or delivered to a court of competent jurisdiction or parking violations bureau having jurisdiction where any contested notice of liability would otherwise be determined. C. An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of liability was issued pursuant to this Local Law shall not be liable for the violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, provided that he or she complies with the provisions of Section 1174-a of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law and otherwise sends to the Court of competent jurisdiction or other adjudicatory bureau or agency of competent jurisdiction, a copy of the rental, lease or other such contract document covering such vehicle on the date of the violation, with the name and address of the lessee clearly legible, within thirty-seven (37) days after receiving notice from the agency or entity which caused such notice of liability to be issued, together with the information contained in the original notice of liability. Failure to send such information within thirty-seven (37) day time period shall render the owner liable for the penalty prescribed by this Local Law. Where the lessor complies with the provisions of this paragraph, the lessee of such vehicle for purposes of this Section, shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle on the date of such violation for the purposes of this Section, shall be subject to liability for the violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law pursuant to this Local Law and shall be sent a notice of liability pursuant to Section 4 of this Local Law. D. A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by a technician employed by the City, or a facsimile thereof, upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, other recorded images produced by a school bus photo violation monitoring system, shall be prima face evidence of the facts contained therein. Any photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, and other recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available for inspection in any proceeding to adjudicate the liability for such violation. E. It shall be a defense to any prosecution for or allegation of a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law pursuant to this Local Law that such school bus stop-arms were malfunctioning at the time of the alleged violation. F. For the purpose of informing and educating owners for motor vehicles in this City during the first thirty-day (30) period in which a school bus photo violation monitoring system is in operation pursuant to the provisions of this Local Law, all owners of motor vehicles who would otherwise be held liable for failure of operators thereof to comply with Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law when meeting a school bus marked and equipped as provided in subdivisions 20-21-c of Section 375 of such Law, shall be issued a written warning in lieu of a notice of liability. SECTION 6. Adjudication of Liability. Liability pursuant to the demonstration program established hereunder shall be imposed upon owners by the Court of competent jurisdiction in the City of Utica or in another other manner pursuant to the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law. SECTION 7. Action for Indemnification. If the owner held liable for a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 1174 of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law pursuant to this Local Law was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the owner may maintain an action for indemnification against the operator. SECTION 8. Reporting Requirements. A. The City, acting by and through the City Department of Planning STOP-DWI/Traffic Safety Coordinator shall develop and cause to be submitted an annual report on the results of the use of a school bus photo violation monitoring system to the Governor, the temporary president of the Senate and the speaker of the Assembly on or before June 1of each year in which the demonstration program is operable. Such report shall include any information required by Section 1174-a (m) of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law to be included as a result of the enactment of this Local Law. B. Pursuant to the requirements of Section 1174-a of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, courts, bureaus, and agencies conducting adjudications as a result of this Local Laws hall report at least annually to the City on the quality Of the adjudication process and its results including the total number of hearings scheduled, re-scheduled, and held; the total number of persons scheduled for such hearings; the total number of cases where fines were paid on or before the hearing date; and the total number of default judgments entered. C. The City, acting by and through the City Department of Planning STOP-DWI/Traffic Safety Coordinator shall annually provide a copy of the annual report submitted pursuant to subsections a and b of this Section, to each Local Law enforcement agency having jurisdiction to enforce violations of the vehicle and traffic law or any ordinance, rule or regulation relating to traffic adopted Pursuant to such law on roadways within the City. SECTION 9. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this Law or The application there of to any person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to Be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, Sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this law, or in its application to The person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such order or judgment shall be rendered.  SECTION 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. This local law shall take effect immediately upon full compliance with all the Requisite statutes and laws applicable to its adoption and promulgation. MEMBERS AYES NAYS MEMBERS AYES NAYS ADOPTED OR DISAPPROVED BY 1 K. Aiello 6 J. Betrus THE FOLLOWING VOTE: 2 R. Burmaster 7 M. Williamson AYES _______ NAYS _______ 3 C. Friend 8 S. Colosimo-Testa DATE ADOPTED _____/_____/ 2023 4 F. Meola 9 F. DiBrango 5 V. Ervin 10 M. Galime  Submitted to council by: Councilman Williamson Proposed Ordinance No. 1 Submitted to council on: 11 / 13 / 23 Proposed Resolution No. Sent to Council Attorney on: 11 / 13 / 23 Thursday Rule Waiver Required? Y Date of Legislation: 11 / 15 / 23 Explanation provided to council on: / / ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF UTICA Department of Legislation Common Council Sponsored By: Councilmember Williamson Ordinance Removing the Traffic Island at Eastwood Ave. and Dunham Road WHEREAS, A traffic island has been erected at the intersection of Eastwood Avenue and Dunham Road, and WHEREAS, said traffic island was erected without a police or engineering study having been submitted to the Common Council for its review prior to the construction, and WHEREAS, there have been multiple complaints from residents, school bus drivers and others, stating that the construction of the traffic island was ill thought out and could be dangerous. The design could lead to a great deal of driver confusion when and if Utica experiences a major snow storm, and BE IT ORDAINED, by the Common Council of the City of Utica, that the traffic island constructed at Eastwood Avenue and Dunham Road, without the benefit of a traffic study, police and engineering department presentation to the Common Council, be demolished and eliminated returning the roads to their original configuration immediately. MEMBERS AYES NAYS MEMBERS AYES NAYS ADOPTED OR DISAPPROVED BY 1 K. Aiello 6 J. Betrus THE FOLLOWING VOTE: 2 R. Burmaster 7 M. Williamson AYES _______ NAYS _______ 3 C. Friend 8 S. Colosimo-Testa DATE ADOPTED _____/_____/ 2023 4 F. Meola 9 F. DiBrango 5 V. Ervin 10 M. Galime